Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Public Appointments

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will list those persons appointed as chairs of non-departmental public bodies by the Department for Transport.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The table below list the chairs of ‘Executive’ and ‘Advisory’ non-departmental bodies (NDPBs) which are appointed by the Department for Transport. NDPBsChair British Transport Police AuthorityMillie BanerjeeDirected Operated Railways LtdDoug SutherlandHigh Speed Two (HS2) LtdSir David HigginsTransport FocusJeff HalliwellDisabled Persons Transport Advisory CommitteeKeith Richards

Large Goods Vehicles

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which agencies are responsible for the enforcement of lorry weight limits; and whether those agencies have sufficient resources to enforce those limits.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is the government agency responsible for the enforcement of Heavy Goods Vehicles and Passenger Carrying Vehicles use. This includes the enforcement of lorry weight limits. DVSA considers that it has sufficient resources to enable it to carry out this enforcement activity.

Leader of the House of Lords

House of Lords: Parliamentary Procedure

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Leader of the House whether the speaking rights of the second largest opposition party front bench in the House of Lords can be reallocated to the opposition party with the second highest votes cast at the last general election.

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Leader of the House what rules apply, and what advice is sought, when a political party seeks to establish or assume front-bench speaking rights in the House of Lords; and when the rules were first established.

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Leader of the House what cross-party discussions have taken place regarding the recognition of opposition front-bench speaking rights for Liberal Democrat spokesmen in the House of Lords.

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Leader of the House whether UKIP Peers in the House of Lords are to be granted opposition front-bench speaking rights; and if not, why not.

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Leader of the House whether the percentage of the vote cast for a political party at a general election is a consideration in deciding whether a political party is granted opposition front-bench speaking rights in the House of Lords.

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Leader of the House on what basis a political party with 7.9 per cent of the national vote at a general election holds front bench status in the House of Lords.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The second largest opposition party is neither formally defined nor given specific speaking rights by the Standing Orders of the House or the Companion to the Standing Orders. The Companion to Standing Orders does, however, set out several areas where the “opposition front benches” have the right to speak for longer than backbenchers or have rights to speak at specific points in proceedings.Of the political parties represented in the House, only the Official Opposition and the Liberal Democrat group operate frontbenches of a size that permits them to shadow each Government department. It is for that reason that the definition of “opposition frontbenches” that applied in practice before the 2010 Parliament has been reverted to in this Parliament. It remains open to any member who wishes to propose a change to current arrangements to make representations to me and/or make a submission to the Procedure Committee.

Northern Ireland Office

National Asset Management Agency

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Irish Republic about the disclosures made in the Irish Parliament concerning the sale of properties in Northern Ireland owned by the National Asset Management Agency; and what assessment they have made of the implications of these disclosures for political progress in Northern Ireland.

Lord Dunlop: The UK Government has had no discussions with the Irish Government about statements made in the Irish Parliament concerning the sale of properties in Northern Ireland owned by the National Asset Management Agency.

Civil Servants: Northern Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civil servants employed through the Northern Ireland graduate fast-track scheme between 1 June 2010 and 1 June 2015 were educated at (1) private, and (2) state, schools.

Lord Dunlop: The Northern Ireland graduate fast track scheme is run by the Northern Ireland Civil Service. The Government does not hold information relating to the Northern Ireland fast track scheme.

Republic of Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 1 July (HL811) concerning the Belfast Agreement and human rights, what discussions they have had over the last five years with the government of the Republic of Ireland at ministerial and official levels; what was discussed; and what were the outcomes of those discussions.

Lord Dunlop: As has been explained previously to the Noble Lord, the UK and Irish Governments meet regularly at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. These include matters relating to the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Copyright

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 6 July (HL934) concerning the proposal by the European Parliament for restrictions on photographs or video footage of public buildings, whether they have the power of veto over such draft legislation; and if so, whether they plan to use their veto in this instance.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: On the 9th July, the EU Parliament considered a non-legislative own initiative report from the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) on EU copyright reform, and voted against proposals to restrict individuals’ freedom to photograph or film buildings or statues located in public places.

Imports: USA

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which categories of United States exports of goods to the United Kingdom are free of European Union tariff and non-tariff barriers; and what was the aggregate value of those exports in the last year for which figures are available.

Lord Maude of Horsham: For US exports to the EU, around 31% of their agricultural product lines and 26% of non-agricultural product lines face no EU tariffs. As official detailed measures of non-tariff barriers are not available it is not possible to estimate the value or categories of US exports to the UK that are free of tariff and non-tariff barriers.

UK Membership of EU

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk that global corporations may delay investing in the United Kingdom because of uncertainty over the United Kingdom's European Union membership.

Lord Maude of Horsham: The United Kingdom continues to attract significant inward investment. As the Prime Minister made clear in his Bloomberg speech, the process of renegotiation and referendum is about providing the certainty and reform that business have asked for. The CBI and BCC have said that they support the reform agenda the PM is seeking to deliver.

Arms Trade: Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to change their policy on selling arms to Israel in line with the policy not to sell arms where they might be used for external aggression or internal repression.

Lord Maude of Horsham: The Government announced the outcome of a review of export licensing for Israel on 14 July 2014. As a result of the review the Government will now assess all export licence applications for Israel, as for all destinations, against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Criterion 2 states that the Government “will not grant a licence if there is a clear risk that the items might be used for internal repression”; Criterion 4 states that the Government “will not grant a licence if there is a clear risk that the intended recipient would use the items aggressively against another country, or to assert by force a territorial claim”.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Public Appointments

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will list those persons appointed as chairs of non-departmental public bodies by the Department for Education.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education has made three such appointments. The Rt Hon Alan Milburn was appointed as chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, Dr Patricia Rice was appointed as chair of the School Teachers’ Review Body and Anne Longfield was appointed as the Children’s Commissioner.

European Union: Education

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 16 June (HL521) concerning schools' compliance with sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996, whether they are aware of campaigns by the European Commission to promote the European Union in primary and secondary schools; and how those educational establishments will provide a balanced treatment of the issue of United Kingdom membership of the European Union.

Lord Nash: The European Commission makes information about the European Union available to schools. European Union institutions have a policy of distributing publications only on demand. They do not send out unsolicited information. There are very few publications produced by EU institutions that are targeted towards schools. Sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 requires schools to prevent political indoctrination and ensure the balanced treatment of political issues. How this is done is a matter for individual schools.

Ministry of Justice

Data Protection

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each of the last six years for which figures are available, how much income was received by the Information Commissioner's Office in respect of its data protection activities; how much of that was spent on such activities; and how much was remitted to the Consolidated Fund.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Information Commissioner's Office will be entitled to spend on data protection activities in the next financial year; and how that figure will be affected if the Information Commissioner's Office registration fee income increases.

Lord Faulks: The Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) income from data protection fees and the corresponding amount remitted to the Consolidated Fund for the last six years is set out in the table below: YearData Protection Fee Income (£’000)Amount remitted to the Consolidated fund (£’000)2014/1517,51902013/1416,5287812012/1316,0553592011/1215,4844462010/1114,9655052009/1013,1920 The amount available to spend each year on data protection activities is dependent on the number of organisations that notify with the ICO. Income for 2015/16 is currently profiled to be £18.5M.

Data Protection

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps, including review, audit or other assessment, have been taken by (1) the Ministry of Justice, (2) the Information Commissioner's Office, and (3) any external auditors and advisers, to ensure that every data controller that processes personal information has (a) registered with the Information Commissioner, if required to, (b) paid the correct registration fee in accordance with the tiered structure, and (c) not processed any personal data if it has not registered.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many data controllers were registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the most recent date for which figures are available; what income was generated from those organisations' registration fees; and what is their estimate of the annual and total income lost by non-registration.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of data controllers who ought to have registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office but have not done so; and what steps have been and will be taken by (1) the Information Commissioner’s Office, and (2) the Ministry of Justice, to secure compliance with the statutory obligation to register.

Lord Faulks: The Data Protection Act 1998 requires every data controller who is processing personal information to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) unless they are exempt. The ICO’s website sets out the criteria for notification and provides guidance on the level of fee organisations should be paying. The ICO have also made it easier for organisations to notify and pay the fee by introducing online payments. At the end of 2014/15 there were 409,000 data controllers registered with the ICO which generated a total income of £17,519,000. It is for data controllers to seek registration; the ICO periodically reminds organisations of the requirement to notify.

Freedom of Expression

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 1 July (HL561), whether they plan to review extant Acts of Parliament to ensure that the right of freedom of expression is not being restricted.

Lord Faulks: Currently, there are no plans to review extant Acts of Parliament to ensure that the right of freedom of expression is not being restricted. The Government will be bringing forward proposals for a Bill of Rights to protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore some common sense to the system.

Prison Service

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many detached duty staff worked in each prison in each month of 2015.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which prisons contributed staff to detached duty in each month of 2015.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which prisons received the highest (1) number and (2) proportion of detached duty staff from another prison in each month of 2015.

Lord Faulks: The deployment of staff between prisons on detached duty is a regular and normal part of prison resourcing. It allows staff to be allocated from prisons with the capacity to provide them, to those where additional staffing is required. A large proportion of the capacity is typically available from prisons that are in the process of closure or going through a re-role. The average weekly provision of staff that were received and contributed as part of the nationally co-ordinated detached duty scheme across public sector prisons are shown in the tables below. The information covers the period January to March 2015, which coincides with the latest published prison staffing data. On average over the three month period (January to March 2013), less than 1% of staff were provided on detached duty. The absolute amount of detached duty staffing contribution received by each establishment can be found in table 1 below. The establishment that received the highest proportion of staffing on detached duty in January and February 2015 was Elmley, where 2% and 7% of officer staffing in the prison was provided by detached duty in each month respectively. In March the highest proportion of officer staffing contributed by detached duty was at Aylesbury with 12% of the total. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures. Values of 5 or fewer are denoted as ‘~’ Table 1. Average Monthly provision of staff received on detached duty to establishments in England & Wales January - March 2015 Monthly ContributionEstablishmentJan-15Feb-15Mar-15Aylesbury~1020Bedford~~~Brinsford~~10Bullingdon~~10Chelmsford~1010Cookham Wood~~10Elmley~2020Feltham~~10Gartree~~~Glen Parva~~~Haverigg~~~High Down~1020Highpoint~~~Hull~~~Isis~1010Isle of Wight~~~Leeds~~~Leicester~~~Nottingham~1010Onley~~~Pentonville~~~Rochester~~10Swaleside~~~Wandsworth~~~Wayland~~~Werrington~~~Wetherby~1010Woodhill~1020Wormwood Scrubs~1010Total30100210  Table 2. Average Monthly provision of staff contributed on detached duty to other establishments in England & Wales January - March 2015 Monthly ContributionEstablishmentJan-15Feb-15Mar-15Aylesbury~~~Blantyre House~~10Bristol~~~Brixton~~~Buckley Hall~~~Bure~~10Cardiff~~~Channings Wood~~~Dartmoor~~~Deerbolt~~10Dover~~~Downview~2030Durham~~~East Sutton Park~~~Eastwood Park~~~Exeter~~~Featherstone~~~Ford~~~Frankland~~~Full Sutton~~~Garth~~~Glen Parva~~~Guys Marsh~~~Hatfield~~~Hindley~1020Hollesley Bay~~~Holloway~~~Holme House~~10High Security Prisons~~~Isle of Wight~~10Kennet~~~Kirklevington~~~Kirklevington Grange~~~Lancaster Farms~~~Leeds~~10Leicester~~~Lewes~~~Littlehey~~10Liverpool~~~Long Lartin~~~Low Newton~~~Maidstone~~~Moorland~~~Morton Hall~~~New Hall~~~North Sea Camp~~~Norwich~~10Portland~~~Preston~~10Risley~~~Send~~~Stafford~~~Stocken~~~Stoke Heath~~~Sudbury~~~Swansea~~~The Mount~~~Thorn Cross~~~Wakefield~~~Wandsworth~~~Warren Hill~~~Wealstun~~~Wetherby~~~Whatton~~~Whitemoor~~~Winchester~~~Woodhill~~~Wymott~~~Total30100210

Immigrants: Children

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied migrant children appeared in courts and tribunals as either parties or witnesses in 2014.

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied migrant children appeared in appeal proceedings in 2014 against orders made.

Lord Faulks: There were 303 unaccompanied migrant children recorded as appellants in asylum cases in the Immigration and Asylum First Tier Tribunal in 2014. The database does not record whether the appellant actually attended a tribunal hearing, which may be held on case files but could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. HMCTS do not record whether witnesses are unaccompanied migrant children. Other courts and tribunals do not record whether a party or a witness in a case is an unaccompanied child migrant.

Improving Outcomes for Young Black and Muslim Men in the Criminal Justice System Review

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they are making to evaluate and respond to the findings and recommendations in the report of the Young Review Improving outcomes for young black and/or Muslim men in the Criminal Justice System; when they plan to publish any responses; and in the light of that review, what immediate action they are taking.

Lord Faulks: The Young Review was commissioned independently of government but has been used to inform equality-related priorities in the Department. At its publication in December 2014, the report was welcomed by the Department and its principle recommendation – the establishment of an Advisory Group of experts to work with NOMS and the Ministry of Justice – was accepted. The Ministry of Justice and NOMS participate actively in the Young Review Advisory Group which is taking forward the further recommended developments.

Legal Aid Scheme: Immigrants

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each of the last four years, how much was paid through legal aid to legal professionals advising asylum seekers and immigrants who had been charged with offences.

Lord Faulks: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) does not record the immigration or asylum status at any stage of the billing or application process for criminal legal aid.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

Political Parties: Finance

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask the Chairman of Committees how much Cranborne money will be given to (1) the Liberal Democrat Party, and (2) the Labour Party; and over what period of time.

Lord Sewel: The maximum amount of financial assistance available to opposition parties will be: £259,357 to the Liberal Democrat party in the period 8 May 2015 to 31 March 2016; and £577,871 to the Labour Party in the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016. The amount given may be less, depending on claims.For each subsequent year, the maximum amount for the previous year is increased by the percentage (if any) by which the retail prices index for the previous March has increased compared with the index for the March before that, and (if the resulting amount is not a whole number of pounds) rounded to the nearest pound. The full-year equivalents on which the calculation will be based are £288,525 for the Liberal Democrat party and the amount set out above for the Labour party.Financial assistance is available to assist the Opposition, the second largest opposition party and the Convenor of the Cross-Bench Peers in carrying out their Parliamentary business.

Ministry of Defence

Defence

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will provide a full breakdown of the costs included in (1) this year's, and (2) 2011–12's, calculation of the total percentage of gross domestic product spent on defence.

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what areas of cost are included in this year's calculation of the percentage of gross domestic product spent on defence that were not included in the calculation for 2011–12.

Earl Howe: As with other NATO allies, from time to time we update our approach to ensure we are categorising defence spending fully in accordance with NATO guidelines, seeking to capture all spending contributing to delivering the defence of the United Kingdom. Our 2011-12 NATO return was £36.6 billion. This included the Ministry of Defence budget, the cost of operations, and the Armed Forces Pension Scheme but did not reflect all UK defence spending. Our 2015-16 NATO return of £39 billion also included Ministry of Defence-generated income which directly funds defence activity, elements of the Government's cyber security spending, parts of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund relating to peacekeeping, war pensions and pension payments to retired MOD civil servants.

Humanitarian Aid: Military Aid

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of unreimbursed humanitarian assistance provided by the Ministry of Defence in each of the last five years.

Earl Howe: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost; however, it is expected that all costs have been recovered since 2010.The Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development have in place a memorandum of understanding which enables the MOD to recover the marginal costs associated with support to humanitarian assistance activities. On occasion, and as appropriate, military support costs have also been recovered from other funding sources such as the Deployed Military Activity Pool and other Government Departments.

Military Bases: Catterick

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the accommodation at Catterick Garrison is en-suite.

Earl Howe: This information is not held centrally. The department is currently developing a robust Single Living Accommodation allocation and management system which will be available in 2016.

Department for Work and Pensions

Welfare State

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the open letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions published in the Tablet on 4 July.

Lord Freud: The Secretary of State received a letter from Ekklesia dated 3 July 2015, which was subsequently published online in the Tablet. The Secretary of State has responded to this letter from Ekklesia. It would not be appropriate for us to make public our response to this private correspondence.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Plastics

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they plan to take to reduce harmful plastic production and waste in the United Kingdom.

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what targets they have for the systematic reduction of harmful plastic production and waste in the United Kingdom.

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of which targets, incentives and disincentives are effective in reducing harmful plastic production and waste; and what actions they plan to take at (1) European Union, (2) Council of Europe, and (3) international, levels in order to effect such reductions.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Plastics play a vital role in most facets of our daily lives. The industry also contributes enormously to our transition to a green economy, particularly through the development and supply of low carbon products and solutions which help manufacturing sectors. Nevertheless, we recognise that the production and disposal of plastic presents challenges: plastics are long-lived in the natural environment and can cause damage when disposed of irresponsibly; and some chemical additives have the potential to be damaging to human health and the environment, during the life of the plastic product and when it is disposed of.   There is a strict limit on the levels of heavy metals permitted within plastic packaging, the plastic parts of electrical & electronic equipment and vehicles placed on both the UK market and the wider EU single market. In addition, the EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) provides the means to control the most dangerous chemicals. The use of a chemical substance, such as an additive in plastics, can be restricted if it presents an unacceptable risk. Alternatively, a hazardous substance may only be allowed in uses that are specifically authorised, either because the risk is adequately controlled or the socio-economic benefits of continued use outweigh the risks.   To reduce the environmental impact of single use plastic carrier bags we are requiring larger stores to charge 5p for such bags from 5 October this year. The experience of other parts of the UK suggests that this could reduce usage from these stores by up to 80%. We also encourage packaging producers to use a minimum level of packaging, including plastic packaging. The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations require that packaging should not exceed what is needed to ensure that products are safe, hygienic and acceptable to the consumer. These Regulations are enforced by Trading Standards.   In addition, the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations place a legal obligation on businesses that make or use packaging to ensure that a proportion of the packaging they place on the market is recovered and recycled. The recycling target for plastic packaging waste placed on the market by businesses obligated under these regulations is 47% for 2015 rising to 52% in 2016 and 57% in 2017.   The Government is in the process of responding to the European Commission’s consultations on the circular economy which will inform a package of proposals on resource efficiency and waste, and which are expected to be published by the end of this year.

Home Office

Deportation: China

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the petition initiated by the children of Chinese sailors deported from Liverpool after World War Two.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they hold about the circumstances in which Chinese fathers who had been recruited to serve in British Merchant Navy Atlantic convoys were, in 1946, compulsorily repatriated, leaving their children; and whether they will place this information in the Library of the House.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the false information given by government officials to the children of Chinese men compulsorily repatriated in 1946 that their fathers had been killed at sea or abandoned them, and the consequences for the children and their mothers; and whether the Home Secretary will agree to meet some of the surviving children.

Lord Bates: No information is held by the Home Office. Surviving files were transferred to the National Archives in 1980; these are open to the public in class HO 213. The Noble Lord is invited to forward to the Home Office any additional information for officials to consider.

Illegal Immigrants

Lord Mawson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many lorry drivers have been fined by United Kingdom authorities during the last 12 months for unintentionally having migrants in their vehicles; and how many migrants have been fined for illegally hiding in lorries coming into the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates: Border Force has imposed 3,319 civil penalties so far, during the 2014/15 financial year. These penalties have been imposed on both hauliers and drivers.Civil Penalties are not imposed on illegal migrants themselves who are handed to the French authorities for processing following detection by Border Force and its contractors. The Civil Penalty Scheme only allows for penalties to be levied on hauliers and drivers. Earlier this year Immigration Minister James Brokenshire held an inaugural summit to promote lorry security and tackle the impact of illegal immigration on the haulage security. The Minister has since hosted a series of roundtable events with haulier groups.It is important that vehicles are secured properly to help mitigate the threat of illegal immigration. The UK provides clear guidance on lorry security under the Civil Penalty Codes of Practice which many responsible drivers and hauliers take steps to follow. This is also an international issue and it is vital we ensure drivers from across the other countries maintain the same standards as ours. In 2013/14 only 7% of fines issued were to British drivers. We need to ensure that the rest of the world's freight transport industry is keeping up with the UK. The UK is held up in Europe as a leading example of best practice and we need to get that message to our European and international counterparts.On 14 July the Home Secretary announced in Parliament the creation of a new secure zone at the port of Calais for UK bound lorries. This will provide a secure waiting area for 230 vehicles - the equivalent of removing a two-and-a-half mile queue from the approaching road. This should transform protection for lorries and their drivers - removing them from the open road where they can become targets for migrants attempting to board their vehicles.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the terms of reference of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse have been settled; whether the Inquiry will take place under the Inquiries Act 2005; and whether any time limits have been determined for the Inquiry to produce a report.

Lord Bates: On Thursday 12 March 2015, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was set up with statutory powers under the 2005 Inquiries Act. The Terms of Reference were published on the same date and are attached. The Terms of Reference set out that the Inquiry must produce regular reports and an interim report by the end of 2018. 



Terms of reference
(Word Document, 28 KB)

Immigrants: Detainees

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to limit the time that an individual may be held in immigration detention; and whether they plan to take steps to ensure that people who have suffered rape, sexual assault or torture are never detained.

Lord Bates: It is not possible to detain indefinitely under Immigration powers. For detention to be lawful there must be a realistic prospect of removal in a reasonable timeframe. To highlight this, published statistics show the majority of people detained under immigration powers (63%) leave detention within 28 days, with the vast majority (93%) leaving detention within 4 months in 2014.There are no plans to introduce a fixed time limit on immigration detention as what is a reasonable prospect of removal will be highly case specific. A fixed time limit may lead to the release of foreign national offenders even when deportation action is continuing. This House divided on the introduction of a fixed time limit during the passage of the Immigration Act 2014 and rejected such a limit by a majority of over 300.Published policy on the use of immigration detention already states where there is independent evidence the individual is a victim of torture, that they should only be detained in very exceptional circumstances. This would include people who had suffered rape or sexual assault as an instrument of torture. Individuals who have been identified by the competent authorities as victims of trafficking, who may have suffered rape or sexual assault as an aspect of or as a result of being trafficked, are also only detained in very exceptional circumstances.

Counter-terrorism: Northern Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their proposed counter-extremism legislation will apply to Northern Ireland and dissident republicans.

Lord Bates: The Counter-Extremism Bill will introduce new powers to tackle all forms of extremism, including Banning Orders to outlaw extremist groups and Extremism Disruption Orders to restrict the harmful activity of extremist individuals.We are considering the territorial extent of the proposed Bill, which will be introduced to Parliament in due course.

Slavery

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which locations have been chosen for piloting the recommended changes to the National Referral Mechanism referred to in the Modern Slavery Strategy.

Lord Bates: The recommendations of the National Referral Mechanism review will be piloted in the South West and West Yorkshire.

Slavery

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the pilots testing changes to the National Referral Mechanism referred to in the Modern Slavery Strategy will begin and end; what mechanism is in place to evaluate the pilot; and when an evaluation report will be produced.

Lord Bates: The recommendations of the National Referral Mechanism review will be piloted for a year from this Summer. Pilots will be assessed by the Home Office Crime and Policing Analysis Unit which will report regularly to the National Referral Mechanism Pilot Steering Board and produce a final report at the end of the pilot period.

Slavery

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) whether the National Referral Mechanism and the Victim Care Contract have been extended to provide support and assistance to all victims of modern slavery covered by sections 1 and 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as recommended by the National Referral Mechanism Review 2014; and (2) if so, what criteria are being used to determine whether an individual is a victim of modern slavery for the purposes of receiving such support.

Lord Bates: The National Referral Mechanism and Adult Victim Care Contract in respect of England and Wales will be extended to victims of modern slavery from 31 July. Discussions are ongoing with the Devolved Administrations to extend this provision across the whole of the UK.An individual will be considered a victim of modern slavery where they meet the existing criteria for being a victim of trafficking, as set out in the Council of Europe Convention, or where they are a victim of slavery, servitude, or forced and compulsory labour, in line with the section 1 offence of the Modern Slavery Act, and in accordance with Article 4 of the Human Rights Convention.

Slavery

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions are taking place with the devolved administrations to ensure consistent implementation of any proposed changes to the National Referral Mechanism referred to in the Modern Slavery Strategy.

Lord Bates: Officials from the Devolved Administrations have attended workshops to develop the pilot model and are in regular discussion with Home Office officials about the operation of the current NRM and potential changes following the review. Further discussions on options for extending the pilot model will be held as evaluation findings emerge over the coming year.

HM Treasury

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will explain why they agreed to a European directive tying the United Kingdom's bank deposit protection scheme to the euro-sterling value which has resulted in a £10,000 reduction in the level of protection for United Kingdom depositors from next year; and what action they intend to take to address this anomaly.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive (DGSD) updates existing EU legislation designed to harmonise the level of deposit protection provided across the European Economic Area (EEA).   This is necessary to ensure that depositors are entitled to the same level of protection wherever they deposit their money, and that UK firms are not competitively disadvantaged in relation to firms in other EEA jurisdictions.   As a result of the current strength of the pound in relation to the euro, it has been necessary for the Prudential Regulation Authority to review the sterling coverage limit. However, the Government has taken action to ensure that UK depositors are not exposed to a sudden reduction in the level of protection they receive. HM Treasury has laid a statutory instrument to ensure that depositors who are currently entitled to £85,000 of protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme will continue to be until 31 December 2015.   This will ensure that there is sufficient time available for depositors to be made aware of the changes, and to take such steps as they feel necessary to manage their financial affairs appropriately in light of this change.

Economic Situation: Greece

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the public purse resulting from the economic crisis in Greece.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The government has secured a deal that protects UK taxpayers from any risk from financing euro area bailouts now and in the future. This deal gives legal force to the commitment secured in 2010 that UK taxpayers would not be drawn into a euro area bailout. While Greece remains in the euro, its financial stability is the responsibility of the euro area.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Carbon Emissions

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase the contribution made by thermal heating and other low-carbon heat technologies, and by building regulations, to the fulfilment of their 2020 carbon emissions reductions target, and to sustained reductions beyond 2020.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The main policy to support the uptake of low-carbon heat technologies is the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RHI is a financial incentive scheme, designed to bridge the gap between the cost of fossil fuel heat sources and renewable heat alternatives. The 2014 projections suggested that in 2020 the RHI would account for 5% of the total reduction in emissions delivered by policies.The RHI budget for 2015-16 is £430million. Budget for future years are the subject of the Spending Review

Cabinet Office

Households

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the change in the number of households in the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2014 where (1) the Household Reference Person was born in the United Kingdom and (2) the Household Reference Person was not born in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UK Statistics Reply 
(PDF Document, 28.79 KB)

Prime Minister: Staff

Lord Lawson of Blaby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff there were in the Prime Minister's office for each Prime Minister over the last 30 years.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The staffing numbers for the Prime Minister’s Office are included in the overall Cabinet Office staff numbers which are available on gov.uk from 2011 onwards.The information prior to this point is not held centrally and it would incur disproportionate costs to be able to identify, analyse and provide this information before 2011.

Public Bodies

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 16 June (HL204) concerning non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies, whether they intend to (1) make further cost savings, and (2) reduce the number of agencies, in the period 2015 to 2020.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Government is finalising the schedule for reviewing arm's-length bodies in this parliament. In the period 2010-15 the Government reduced the number of public bodies by a third, reducing administrative costs by over £2.6bn.

Elections: Voting Behaviour

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to undertake a consultation based on independent market research about whether people would be more likely to vote in elections if polling stations were open at weekends.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Government currently has no plans to undertake such a consultation.

Electoral Register: Fines

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether changes to the electoral registration process are needed to ensure that people are aware of the civil penalties for non-compliance with the registration process; and what proportion of Electoral Registration Officers use registration forms that inform people of these penalties.

Lord Bridges of Headley: All Electoral Registration Officers are obliged by the Representation of the People Regulations 2001 to use the registration application forms designed by the Electoral Commission and approved by Government Ministers. Applicants filling in these forms are required to make a declaration that they understand that failure to make an application when required to do so could result in a civil penalty being issued.

Constituencies

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for changing the process by which constituency boundaries are redrawn.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies (PVSC) Act 2011 provides for the number of constituencies to be reduced from 650 to 600 and the Government remains committed to equalising the size of constituencies in order to make votes of more equal value. The Government will outline its plans for constituency boundaries when it responds to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s report, What next on the redrawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries?

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Television: Internet

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of when television will be delivered predominantly across the internet.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government has made no estimate of when this will happen.

BBC Monitoring: Finance

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to protect the funding presently available for the BBC Monitoring Service in the light of the reduction in the BBC's overall funding.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government has published a BBC Charter Review consultation paper, seeking views on all aspects of the BBC, including its funding. A copy of this document has been deposited in the libraries of both Houses, and it is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bbc-charter-review-public-consultation



BBC Charter Review: Public consultation 2015
(PDF Document, 4.37 MB)

Department of Health

Mesothelioma: Drugs

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the decision by the panel of the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) that the clinical benefits of pemetrexed as a maintenance treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, and who had previously not progressed on chemotherapy with the combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed, were insufficient to justify retaining pemetrexed within the CDF, pemetrexed will be withdrawn as a treatment option for patients with mesothelioma.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has advised that pemetrexed (Alimta) for maintenance treatment of stage IIIB/IV non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer after response to pemetrexed-containing first line therapy will be reviewed by the national Cancer Drug Fund (CDF) panel at its next meeting at the end of July 2015. It will remain on the national CDF list for that indication pending the outcome of that further review.   Pemetrexed remains available for those patients who meet the criteria set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisal guidance on pemetrexed for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (TA135).

Gender Recognition

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to ensure that the Health and Social Care Information Centre informs transsexual patients whose health data has been wrongly disclosed to third parties.

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Health and Social Care Information Centre does not contravene section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) takes every precaution to ensure compliance with legislation and that identifiable data is not disclosed without a legal basis to do so. There are strict controls set out within the Data Protection Act that govern the disclosure of sensitive data.   In all scenarios involving patient’s health data being wrongly disclosed, irrespective of the personal circumstances of a patient, HSCIC would seek to ensure appropriate reporting, investigations and corrective actions took place.

Monitor: Employment Agencies

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Monitor’s use of temporary staff to work with NHS Foundation Trusts on reducing agency staff costs as a model for the National Health Service.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This Government is determined to reduce expensive staffing agency costs in the National Health Service.   Monitor’s project will look at how best to reduce this spend and enable the NHS to set up systems to deliver savings.   Spending on temporary staff in the NHS was £2.4 billion in 2013-14. In contrast, this initial work, led by Monitor, will cost £175,000 (excluding VAT) and could lead to substantive appointments being made to take the work forwards if required.

Health Professions: Training

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from Monitor regarding the case for increasing training places for doctors and nurses since 2010.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department has not received any specific representations from Monitor regarding increasing the number of training places for doctors and nurses.   Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for workforce planning for the National Health Service and as part of that process liaise with all arms length bodies, including Monitor, individual healthcare providers and key stakeholders regards medical and non medical staffing requirements going forward.   The Department set up HEE to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. HEE is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply for the future balancing need against demand, taking into account factors such as the age profile of the existing workforce, the impact of technology, and new drugs.

Folic Acid

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to reducing the use of folic supplementation by women of child-bearing age.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government has not given consideration to reducing the use of folic acid supplementation by women of child-bearing age.   To reduce the risk of neural tube defect affected pregnancies, all women who could become pregnant are advised to take an additional 400μg/day folic acid as a medicinal or food supplement prior to conception and until the twelfth week of pregnancy.

Folic Acid

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any recent evidence that a folic acid deficiency in men may lead to birth defects in their offspring.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England is not aware of any evidence to suggest that a folic acid deficiency in men may lead to birth defects in their offspring.

Folic Acid

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the serum folate levels in women of child-bearing age in the latest results of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey; and how these compare to the World Health Organisation thresholds.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Serum total folate concentrations were published in a National Diet and Nutrition Survey Supplementary Report on 20 March 2015, available at the following link and has also been attached.   https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-diet-and-nutrition-survey-supplementary-report-blood-folate   For women of child bearing age (16 to 49 years) in the United Kingdom, mean serum total folate concentration was 20.0 nmol/L, 16.5% had concentrations below 10 nmol/L, the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold indicating biochemical folate deficiency. 



Folate Report
(PDF Document, 593.91 KB)

Social Services: Apprentices

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to encourage young people to take up social care apprenticeships.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department is committed to supporting the social care apprenticeships programme. A recruitment and retention strategy launched by the Department in September 2014 focuses on apprenticeships and other innovative programmes to attract younger people into careers in adult social care. A copy is attached.   These include: the care ambassadors service supporting frontline care staff, to visit schools, colleges and job centres and inspire others; Sector Route-Way and Work Academy which provide experience of working in care, and develops skills; and the Traineeship initiative which is a training programme to provide young people with skills and work experience to find employment or progress onto an apprenticeship.   The Department’s delivery partner, Skills for Care, has also produced guidance for social care employers on the employment of 16 – 18 year olds and is developing projects with local authorities to encourage recruitment of young people into apprenticeships in social care. 



Recruitment and Retention Strategy
(PDF Document, 1.26 MB)

Medicine: Research

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for a global fund to support research into antibiotics, Ebola and other neglected diseases.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The global funding of research and development of new antibiotics is part of the Independent review announced by the Prime Minister in June 2014 and chaired by Lord O’Neill of Gatley. The review is analysing the economics underlying all stages of the research and development of new antimicrobials and will propose concrete actions to tackle these internationally. The final recommendations from the review will be published in summer 2016.   There are now 15 vaccines under development for Ebola across the world. The Department for International Development, in partnership with the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council, has supported the Phase 1 clinical trial of a vaccine candidate, and funded a number of other areas of Ebola research, through the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises programme.   The United Kingdom is also providing over £10 million annually for research into neglected tropical diseases. This is through a range of initiatives, including development of new treatment and diagnostic products, as well as implementation research. Examples of products resulting from the research in recent years include the first ever rapid diagnostic test and the first new, improved treatment option for sleeping sickness.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether post-marketing surveillance has been conducted on the administration of (1) Gardasil, and (2) Cervarix; if so, by whom, over what period, and with what results; and if not, why not.

Lord Prior of Brampton: All licensed medicines and vaccines, including Gardasil and Cervarix, are subject to post-marketing surveillance (also known as pharmacovigilance). Gardasil and Cervarix are authorised via the centralised procedure with the European Commission as Licensing Authority. The post-marketing surveillance for centrally authorised products is underpinned by European Legislation (Regulation (EU) No 1027/2012) which puts requirements on national competent authorities in member states, the European Medicines Agency and marketing authorisation holders to collect data on safety of medicines and vaccines, assess any new issues, take action to minimise risks and monitor the effectiveness of any action taken.   Gardasil and Cervarix have been subject to post-marketing surveillance since the time of marketing. Gardasil and Cervarix have a very good safety record, and surveillance shows they have contributed to a significant decrease in rates of infection with the two main cancer-causing human papillomaviruses. The United Kingdom programme is eventually expected to prevent hundreds of deaths from cervical cancer every year.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the outcome of 75 per cent of reported serious adverse events arising from taking Cervarix is unknown, in the light of the fact that the vaccine has a black triangle warning on its packaging indicating that increased pharmacovigilance is required.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As of 7 July 2015, adverse events with an unknown outcome make up 22% of the total number of serious suspected adverse events reported in association with Cervarix.   The Black Triangle Scheme for intensive monitoring of medicines ran for many years in the United Kingdom but was replaced by the European equivalent in 2012.   Cervarix was first authorised in September 2007. For the first two years of the Cervarix immunisation programme in the UK, to complement the Black Triangle Scheme, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) put in place an ‘enhanced’ safety monitoring strategy involving a multi-disciplinary team of scientists. Cumulative safety summaries were published on the MHRA website each week for the public to see.   The Black Triangle Scheme, when it was in place, intensively monitored new medicines to ensure that any new safety hazards were identified promptly. The Commission on Human Medicines and the MHRA encouraged the reporting of all suspected reactions to newer drugs and vaccines, which were denoted by an inverted black triangle symbol.   Every reporter to the Yellow Card scheme receives an acknowledgement which asks that any new information relating to the case be reported. Follow up procedures for Yellow Card reports are in place and are designed to ensure that relevant information is sought if this is missing from reports of serious reactions which could potentially be new signals. While in an ideal world full details would be obtained for every report, given there are over 750,000 reports on the database with around 30,000 new reports each year, it will never be possible to ensure all reports on the database are complete. There are a number of difficulties with achieving satisfactory follow up. Time pressure on potential reporters has been identified as one of the reasons for under-reporting adverse reactions through the Yellow Card Scheme. This issue also applies to requests for follow up information and therefore there is a need to be selective and focussed about the reports for which follow up information is requested.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why only 16.8 per cent of reports of serious adverse events relating to human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines under the Yellow Card Scheme have been followed up, according to the response by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to a freedom of information request on 25 June; how this compares to the percentage of yellow-card reports followed up for all vaccines; and whether they now plan to follow up all reported serious adverse events relating to HPV vaccines in order to ascertain recovery rates.

Lord Prior of Brampton: A total of 2,624 spontaneous suspected serious adverse reaction reports (ADRs) with human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines have been reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) via the Yellow Card Scheme up to 7 July 2015.   To date more than eight million doses of HPV vaccine have been given in the United Kingdom since 2008, with close to 90% eligible teenagers vaccinated. The vast majority of suspected side effects reported so far relate to those we would expect with most types of vaccine; these are most commonly dizziness, headache, nausea, sore arms, vomiting, general malaise, tiredness, fever, and rashes. These tend to be mild and transient. Many serious reports relate to immediate fainting, which is not necessarily a side effect of the vaccine but a response that any type of needle insertion can provoke in some people.   The following table provides a breakdown of UK suspected spontaneous ADRs received via the Yellow card Scheme in association with all vaccines on the immunisation schedule. The table provides the total number of reports, the total number of serious reports and the number of serious reports followed up.   UK suspected spontaneous ADRs received via the Yellow card Scheme in association with all vaccines on the immunisation schedule. Vaccine BrandTotal number of reportsNumber of serious reportsNumber of serious reports followed up% of serious reports followed up*Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)8,2762,62444117%Diphtheria,tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenza type b (DTaP/IPV/Hib)1,38271310314%Tetanus, diphtheria and polio (Td/IPV)1,1526719514%Diphtheria,tetanus, pertussis and polio (DTaP/IPV)1,3265096512%Rotavirus (Rotarix)4522837025%Pneumococcal disease (PCV)1,6118828510%Meningococcal group C disease (Men C)14,6714,241812%Hib/Men C2851552315%Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)5,4922,804883%Pneumococcal disease (PPV)1,726985273%Fluenz/ Fluenz Tetra8773817419%Zostavax64640810526%Influenza virus5,745380748313% * Percentage provided to the nearest whole number   It should be noted that a Yellow Card report is not proof of a side effect occurring, but a suspicion by the reporter that the vaccine may have been the cause. Yellow Card data cannot be used as a reliable indicator of the frequency of suspected ADRs to vaccines or medicines. The level of ADR reporting may fluctuate between given years due to a variety of reasons such as a medicine being new (reporting rates are generally higher when a product is first introduced), stimulated interest/publicity and variations in exposure to the medicine. Comparisons of ADR reporting rates would be an invalid estimate of relative vaccine safety.   Every reporter to the Yellow Card scheme receives an acknowledgement which asks that any new information relating to the case be reported. Follow up procedures for Yellow Card reports are in place and are designed to ensure that relevant information is sought if this is missing from reports of serious reactions which could potentially be new signals. While in an ideal world full details would be obtained for every report, given there are over 750,000 reports on the database with around 30,000 new reports each year, it will never be possible to ensure all reports on the database are complete. There are a number of difficulties with achieving satisfactory follow up. Time pressure on potential reporters has been identified as one of the reasons for under-reporting adverse reactions through the Yellow Card Scheme. This issue also applies to requests for follow up information and therefore there is a need to be selective and focussed about the reports for which follow up information is requested.   The HPV vaccine has a very good safety record, and surveillance shows it has contributed to a significant decrease in rates of infection with the two main cancer-causing human papillomaviruses. The UK programme is eventually expected to prevent hundreds of deaths from cervical cancer every year.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 16 June (HL229), which indicated that 2,589 serious suspected adverse drug reactions to human papilloma virus vaccines had been reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as at 3 June, and the response by the MHRA to a freedom of information request on 25 June that 2,617 such reactions had been reported as at 24 June, what assessment they have made of the increase in reports over the course of one month.

Lord Prior of Brampton: My Answer of 16 June (HL229) confirmed a total of 2,598 serious suspected adverse reaction reports with human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines had been reported via the Yellow Card Scheme up to 3 June 2015.   In relation to the additional serious suspected adverse reaction reports received since 3 June 2015, this number is in line with the average number of such reports received per month since the start of the United Kingdom HPV vaccination program.   The safety of all vaccines, including HPV, remains under continual review and appropriate action will be taken if any important new risks are confirmed.

Diabetes: Research

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much is currently being spent on research into Type 1 diabetes.

Lord Prior of Brampton: In 2014-15, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) spent £2.7 million on type 1 diabetes research through its research programmes, research centres and units, and research fellowships. Total spend by the NIHR on type 1 diabetes is higher than this figure because expenditure by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) on specific diseases and topics cannot be separated from total CRN expenditure.   The Medical Research Council spent £3.3 million on type 1 diabetes in 2013-14. A figure for 2014-15 is not yet available.

Folic Acid

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the serum total folate levels for women of child-bearing age shown in the latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey supplementary report vary between the constituent parts of the United Kingdom, and whether those levels are above or below the World Health Organisation thresholds.

Lord Prior of Brampton: For women of child bearing age (16 to 49 years), mean serum total folate concentration was 17.4 nanomoles per litre (nmol/L) in Scotland, 18.8 nmol/L in Wales and 16.3 nmol/L in Northern Ireland. The proportion with concentrations below 10 nmol/L, the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold indicating biochemical folate deficiency was 24.4% in Scotland, 14.5% in Wales and 30.6% in Northern Ireland. In the United Kingdom as a whole, mean serum total folate concentration was 20.0 nmol/L, and 16.5% had concentrations below the WHO threshold.

Folic Acid

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the governments of Scotland and Wales regarding the information contained in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey supplementary report of 20 March.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Departmental officials meet regularly with their counterparts in Scotland and Wales and have discussed the results of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey as part of these ongoing communications.

Folic Acid

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings ministers have had with industry in the light of the blood folate results published in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey supplementary report published on 20 March.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Ministers have had no meetings with industry with regards to the blood folate results published in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

Social Services: Finance

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of planned reductions in social care budgets for 2015–16 on local authorities and social care providers.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department monitors local authority budget data and expenditure on adult social care as routine. We will continue to work closely with local government and providers to understand current and future funding requirements to support decisions relating to the upcoming Spending Review.   This year, the Better Care Fund will provide £5.3 billion of investment in better integrated care, based on joint plans that have been developed locally and putting resources where the local NHS and social services think it is needed. Social care protection is a national condition of the Better Care Fund.